Harry Potter and the Influenza Virus
by Padfoot6
Summary: I had to write this thingy for Biology, I got it back today and my teacher said it was very funny so I decided to post it. I hope you take the time to read it! If you have to do a similar project you definatly should read it. I promise it will be worth it


Harry Potter and the Influenza Virus  
  
Hey I decided to post this, its an assignment for Biology. The teacher thought it was very good and gave me 19 out of 20. I hope you read it! I added some stuff to it so it wasn't so rushed the teacher said we could only have 2 pages so I had it all mushed together and it was hard to read so here is the easier version with some stuff added! Thanks Read and Review and you never know you might learn something!  
  
  
  
Harry and his two best friends, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the Gryffindor common room discussing what You-Know-Who will do next.  
  
"He's tried almost everything to get you Harry, what could he possibly do this time?" said Ron  
  
"I don't know" said Harry as he let out a yawn;  
  
Hermione was next to speak "its pretty late we should get some sleep".  
  
Harry walked up to his dormitories with Ron (Hermione went to the girls dormitories) and once his head hit the pillow he was asleep.  
  
He had the most peculiar dream; two hooded figures were talking in front of a fire place. "I've tried everything to get him, magic just isn't working" said the first person,  
  
Harry immediately recognized his voice as Voldemort (You-Know-Who)  
  
"I don't know what you could try; maybe you just can't beat him"  
  
Just as easily as the first voice Harry recognized the second mans voice none other than the cowardly Wormtail.  
  
"I know what I haven't tried; I'll do something that he won't expect that no one will suspect. I'll infect him with a muggle (non magic person) virus"  
  
"Brilliant!" exclaimed Wormtail.  
  
"Now which one too chose, I'll leave that up to you Wormtail. Now don't fail me because you know what happens if you fail" said Voldemort as he waved his wand,  
  
Wormtail immediately cowered "I will not fail" and then he left the room.  
  
The next thing Harry knew, it was day light he quickly got out of bed and got dressed he met Ron and Hermione in the great hall for breakfast. As hungry as Harry thought he was the look of the food disgusted him.  
  
"Why aren't you eating anything Harry?" questioned Hermione  
  
"I'm just not that hungry" he replied.  
  
His two friends looked at Harry to see if anything was wrong, they both noticed a crimson tinge to his cheeks. Since Hermione was closest to Harry she put her palm to his forehead  
  
"Harry you're burning up!"  
  
Before Harry could reply with a simple "I'm fine" his friends whisked him off to the infirmary.  
  
"You have the flu Mr. Potter" was the first thing Madam Pomfrey said after she thoroughly examined him.  
  
"But I thought that was a muggle disease" said Ron  
  
"Yes usually it is, very curious. Well we can't worry about that right now drink this" she held up a smoldering potion to his lips.  
  
"It should help"  
  
Harry drank it rather reluctantly but once he had downed the awful potion he fell straight asleep. As soon as he was unconscious he found himself in a dream, but unlike his last dream he wasn't in a room it looked like he was in his own body. It didn't look right though, his cells had what looked like little Apollo Lunar Lander ships attached to them, and the ships were injecting strands into the cells. Harry watched in amazement the inside of his cell were reproducing more of these tiny ships, and then before he could blink the cell burst and the ships were dispersed everywhere attaching themselves to new cells. As this process continued Harry seemed to feel worse and worse, his throat was starting to hurt he developed a headache, his body ached all over and he was becoming tired (This was weird considering he was sleeping).  
  
"What's going on? Isn't my body supposed to do something?" he thought out loud as the spreading of the virus continued.  
  
He decided to get closer as he approached a cell with one of the ships newly attached he swore he heard it yell for help, as he got closer he knew he heard it say help.  
  
"Maybe I have to do something" he thought as he moved around to trying to do anything, "I know I'll go look for some sign of my immune system".  
  
As he passed by an infected cell that just burst he noticed it wasn't just emitting more of the virus but it was also letting out a substance that seemed to be slowing down the virus he will later know as interferons.  
  
"Oh I don't understand why my immune system is taking so long; I should have paid more attention in muggle biology."  
  
But as soon as he spoke a bunch of new cells came to the scene Harry knew that they must be his white blood cells.  
  
Harry got closer and just as he heard his cell speaking he heard one of the white blood cells say "does anyone remember the antibody for this virus?"  
  
"Um. excuse me" said Harry as he got even closer, the white blood cell turned and looked at Harry  
  
"Hey I've never seen something like you before, you must be a new virus, attack!"  
  
as soon as it issued its order they all swarmed around him.  
  
"No! Wait this is my body, I don't know how I'm in here but I need to fix it".  
  
"How can this be your body if you are in it?"  
  
"I don't know but please help me fix it" Harry pleaded  
  
"Lets listen to him, he doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong" said one of the other white blood cells  
  
"OK if this is your body, do you remember the antibody for the virus?" said the first one that spoke  
  
"Antibody?" was all Harry said  
  
"Yes antibody, it is the basic functional unit of the immune response. An antibody molecule is shaped like the letter 'Y' is any of this ringing a bell?"  
  
Harry shook his head no.  
  
"When was the last time you had a flu shot?"  
  
"Um. I think I had one once when I was six"  
  
"You are supposed to go back for more, or us white blood cells will forget how to make the antibody and it will take longer to fight the virus"  
  
"Sorry my aunt and uncle didn't bother to get me updated ones, they only got me that one so I didn't give their precious Dudley the flu"  
  
"Dudley?" it was now the white blood cells turn to be confused  
  
"Never mind he isn't important".  
  
"OK I want all of the B-Cells to get working on finding the antibody! And you." He turned to Harry "What's the matter with you?"  
  
Harry seemed to be swaying on his feet.  
  
"Why is it so hot in here all of a sudden" said Harry  
  
"That would be your inflammatory response"  
  
Seeing that Harry was completely lost on this explanation  
  
"It means that certain chemicals in your body are raising your temperature to try to fight off the virus resulting in a fever"  
  
"Oh" was all Harry said.  
  
"We can't let it get too high, that can be dangerous so we have to work fast"  
  
"What do you mean by dangerous" Harry asked becoming worried  
  
"Well it could develop into pneumonia, but let's not get into that"  
  
Just noticing that his cells and the white blood cells were talking but not the virus itself Harry asked "How come the virus is the only thing that doesn't seem to really do anything"  
  
"Well the virus itself isn't really alive, it's nothing but a fragment of DNA in a protective coat, and it just uses the cell as a factory to produce more virus particles."  
  
"OK I understand what the virus is and what it is doing, so how did it get in here?"  
  
"Ah you see the immune system works inside your body as well as on the outside"  
  
Harry didn't know what to say, he was confused again.  
  
"You see your skin is also part of your immune system it's called a non- specific response, same as the mucus and hairs inside your nose, so if one of these non-specific responses should fail the virus could get in so then the immune system inside your body starts working. That is what we are currently doing understand?"  
  
"Yes I understand how it got in and what it is, so how do we beat it?" said Harry  
  
"That is where the antibody comes in. As I said before they are a 'Y' shaped protein that responds to specific antigen, which is a virus toxin. So the antibody will attach itself to the virus, and disable the chemical action of the toxin, and when it binds itself to the outer coat of the virus it can stop the virus from attaching itself to the cell wall."  
  
"Then we should get a move on, and make those" said Harry  
  
"Its not as simple as that, you see that is why you should get the flu shot so we can learn to produce them by attacking non effective virus cells but since it has been so long since you've had one we've forgotten, so that is why I've made the B-Cells try to remember or learn again"  
  
And once again Harry was lost "B-Cells?"  
  
"Yes that's what I said, they are a form of White Blood Cell but there are different kinds. B-Cells are in charge of producing antibodies, and then there are T-Cells they can detect cells that are producing viruses and bump up against them and kill them hence their nickname 'Killer T-Cells'"  
  
As he said that he motioned over to where this was taking place  
  
"There are also 'Helper and Suppressor T-Cells' they are there to sensitize killer T-Cells"  
  
"I wish they'd hurry and get that antibody I'm feeling worse and worse by the minute"  
  
"Well unfortunately that is the side affect of the virus"  
  
"Is this going to happen every time I get the flu?"  
  
"No, once we've found the antibody and if you get your flu shot as needed your B-Cells will remember the antibody and it will destroy the virus so instead of feeling sick for a couple of weeks, you might only feel sick for a few days".  
  
"We've got the antibody!" yelled a nearby B-Cell,  
  
"Finally" said the White Blood Cell that explained Harry's body to Harry.  
  
Harry watched as the antibodies went to work they started killing the viruses and fixing Harry's body.  
  
"Hey how come I don't feel better?" said Harry  
  
"It might take awhile; there are a lot of infected cells and virus particles to dispose of"  
  
"Oh I see, well as long as the problem is fixed. Thank you and I will remember to get my flu shots".  
  
Just as Harry was waking up he thought if muggle viruses were this complicated he didn't want to know about the wizarding viruses. Harry's eyes fluttered open and he was met with a blurry room, Hermione replaced his glasses on the bridge of his nose.  
  
"How are ya feeling?" said Ron  
  
"Better thanks" said Harry as he sat up  
  
"Well you had us worried young man, your fever was getting pretty high" said Madam Pomfrey as she brought Harry a glass of water.  
  
"Oh that is just a natural defense against a virus, your body's temperature rises to try to kill whatever is making you sick it is called inflammatory response"  
  
Hermione and Ron looked at Harry with disbelief; Madam Pomfrey looked nothing short of shocked.  
  
"What did you say?" said Hermione,  
  
Harry repeated himself and decided on explaining his dream.  
  
Back where Voldemort and Wormtail were hiding out  
  
"You failed! He's getting better I thought I made myself perfectly clear"  
  
"S.o.rr.y my Lord"  
  
"Not only did you fail but somehow you managed to give me the virus as well, and for that you'll pay dearly"  
  
Voldemort raised his wand and muttered crucio, Wormtail writhed in pain as the curse was performed Voldemort started to laugh but ended up coughing instead.  
  
The End I hope you enjoyed it and learned something! 


End file.
